Tattoo
by Kassaremidybelljesslynn
Summary: Zoom has a tattoo that means so much to him. It's the name of the girl he thought he'd be with forever. Thirty years later the woman he's with now sometimes gets a bit jealous of the tattoo. T for swearing. warning: character death not Zoom or Marsha! .
1. Chapter 1

Tattoo

Summary: Okay, so I noticed in the movie that Zoom had a tattoo. So I made this story. It's going to be a two-shot. Kind of dramatic, but I had just finished watching my soap operas when I wrote this, so give me a break.

* * *

"Zoom!" she screamed. I groaned. Is it so wrong that I want just one minute alone with my girlfriend? Just one?

"WHAT?!" I yelled back. We were hiding out where the cameras couldn't get to us (Marksman called it the "tripped-up electrical panel.") so Larraby wouldn't come in to ruin our moment. Unfortunately, Daravia could.

"Be nice," Ace whispered.

"But she's annoying!" I whined.

"Yeah, and she's also saved your butt on numerous occasions. If you piss her off she might not be around next time," Ace pointed out.

"I don't need her help. So she can jump high! Big deal! I'll have you around to fly up and catch me," I countered. She smiled but shook her head.

"Come on. If she tries to karate chop you, I'm sure you can run away fast enough," she laughed. I gave in – of course – and we went into the training room where Daravia was breaking the random objects that Grant threw at her in one swift kick.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"I was thinking," she started. She kicked a foot thick piece of metal in half then signaled for a stop. "I was thinking," she started again.

"Wow, shocker there. Didn't know you had the tools to do that," I said. She glared at me and Ace flicked my ear.

"What would you wussies say if I asked you to get tattoos with me?" she asked.

"Tattoos?" Ace asked. I could tell from her voice that she did _not_ want a tattoo.

"Yeah. I mean, this is basically a military base, why not get the tattoos to go along with it?" she asked.

"Military people have tattoos?" I asked.

"Duh. I asked every one of the tools that come to watch us and they all have tats. So why not us?"

"I don't know. Aren't they…you know…dangerous?" Ace asked.

"You just destroyed a homicidal robot the size of the Empire State Building with no one to help you except this ignoramus and you're telling me you're too chicken to get a tattoo?" Daravia taunted.

"Hey. Back off," I said, jumping in.

"Back off of what? What did Daravia do this time?" a voice from behind me asked. I looked and saw my brother, Connor, walking towards us with Marksman.

"Get bent," Daravia shot at Connor but she was smiling. Those two had been flirting with each other for years. I didn't get why they hadn't gone out yet.

"Something about tattoos," Marksman answered. Connor gave him a look.

"Do you know how annoying your stupid 'Mind Sight' is? Besides, I thought it just allowed you to see stuff, not hear stuff," Connor said.

"It can. I saw Daravia designing a tattoo earlier. I was just waiting for her to say something," Marksman explained. "And at least being a know-it-all isn't as annoying as being a jerk-off," Marksman said to Connor.

"Shut-up Marksman," Daravia said.

"Why don't you all shut-up? Look, I don't care either way. We should make the decision and get the tattoos soon though because Larraby will be here by tomorrow afternoon and I've got this feeling he will not be okay with the tattoos," I cut in. Everyone nodded in agreement except Ace. I put my arm around her. "You don't have to if you don't want to," I whispered to her. She shook her head.

"No. I want to," she said.

"Then it's decided. We'll sneak out at 8 o'clock sharp. No stragglers, you hear me?" Daravia ordered. We all nodded and walked off. "GO!" Daravia shouted to Grant.

"Why did you stop?" he asked.

"None of your business," she snapped. "GO!" A car was thrown at her and she kicked in half. "Is that all you've got?"

"You're gonna give yourself an ulcer one of these days," Connor remarked. Ace and I walked out but when I turned around for a second I saw that Daravia had kicked the next object at Connor (a pick-up truck). He concussed it back at her and she kicked it in half. They smiled at each other. In the beginning, they freaked me out but I figure they're perfect for each other.

He's the only one is willing to take her bullshit but at the same time is the only one who she'll listen to when she's being to much of a jerk. It all works out.

* * *

"Okay, so here are my designs," Daravia said, handing me a notebook. I saw a few very lame designs but I finally saw one that wasn't half bad. There was a huge ZP in the middle, the Z being red and the P was purple. I guessed it stood for Zenith Program. A gold circle surrounded it and around that were green, gold, and blue bands. It was actually pretty neat looking.

"I like this one," I said. Ace nodded. We passed the picture around.

"Okay, that's the one. Marksman, can you drive any faster?" Daravia said.

"You try driving this thing! It's impossible!" he complained.

"Chill Daravia," Connor said from the spot he was lounging. He always seemed to be lounging on something. I swear, the boy thinks he's James Dean.

"We're almost there," Ace whispered. I put my arms around her. It weirded me out a good amount when she was like this. I mean, she's Ace. She's good at everything, she's not afraid of anything. So when she is afraid? Just a little scary.

"You know we're going to attract a lot of attention," Marksman pointed out.

"Do I look like I care?" Daravia asked. I heard Connor chuckle in the corner. We all got out of the space ship and followed Daravia to the tattoo artist. "We'd like this design on each of us," she said. The guy nodded. Marksman sat down first and so it began.

"Where should I get mine?" Ace asked.

"Probably on your arm. Somewhere where it's not to near a bone because that hurts more," Connor said to her. She nodded.

"Where are you getting yours?" Ace asked Daravia.

"My lower back," she said. "I think it would look cool there." Everyone had gone before us.

"I'm going to go stop to find some stuff. Connor come with," Daravia said, pulling his arm. Marksman had wandered off a while ago. Ace was in the middle of getting her tattoo. She was holding my hand.

"My name is Alexis," she said. I looked at her.

"What?"

"My name. My real name is Alexis."

"Oh…that seems to fits you," I said. It did.

"I hate it though. My parents…they ditched me. I was all too happy to be renamed Ace," she said.

"Jack. I like Zoom better. My father named me and he wasn't exactly loving. Concussion is really Connor. He likes his name though, because our mom named him," I said. She nodded.

"All done," the tattoo artist said. Something occurred to me.

"Did the others pay for their tattoos?" I asked. He nodded. Good. Leaving me to pay for the tattoos is something Daravia would definitely do.

I sat down and gestured to my arm. He got to work. It hurt, but I'd endured worse. Guess how we found out Connor was special? He got pissed and gave me a concussion with his sonic blasts. Oh yeah, that hurt like hell.

Ace kept looking at her tattoo.

"It looks fine," I said.

"Really?" she asked.

"Completely. You look hot," I said, smiling. She blushed.

"Thanks." I realized something right then. We had no lives. Ace was the only girl I'd ever really liked and would probably ever meet. I thought about it. Would it be so bad to spend the rest of my life with her?

One part of me said yes. One part of me wanted to see the world, meet more girls. I wanted to do the whole "college life" thing. I wanted to have a Spring Fling.

There was another part though, a slightly louder part. It was telling me that Ace was probably the only girl who could put up with me without coming off as a pushover. Ace was my girl and I was her guy. It really was that simple.

"Done." I looked up. Already? Wow, apparently the pain from Connor was worse than I remembered. I'll have to talk to him about that…

"Can I get another one?" I asked.

"Of what?" he asked. I looked over at Ace. She looked at me quizzingly.

"I want it to say Ace," I said. Ace smiled and started to draw really quickly. She drew her name in huge letters with wings attached.

"Okee-dokee," he said and got to work. She smiled at me, her eyes twinkling. She shot up straight all of a sudden and started drawing on Daravia's notebook.

"When he's done, I want this one on my lower back," she said. She held up the notebook and I saw my design. Zoom written in big, yellow letters. She smiled. I smiled back.

* * *

**_ONE YEAR LATER_**

I couldn't believe it. Marksman had a feeling about the Gamma radiation. Of course, no one listened to us and now look what happened. Marksman was dead, killed by Connor. My own brother. I couldn't stand it.

"ZOOM!" Ace shouted. I looked over at her. We had been hiding somewhere so Connor couldn't find us. "Daravia is dead." I saw a tear slide down her cheek. I jumped up and ran over to her, holding her. "It's all over the news. Look," she said. She turned on the T.V.

"We have some footage taken from the incident," the reporter was saying. I saw Connor appear on the screen, ripping down a building. Daravia came up out of nowhere and kicked him back. Connor started yelling at her.

"What is she saying?" the cameraperson muttered. I could hear him fine.

"I don't want to hurt you Daravia!" Connor yelled.

"Then stop!"

"NO! They destroyed us! The scientists! They're controlling our lives! How long do you think you're going to last with all that Gamma radiation in you? Not long! I heard Larraby say that it could kill us early. Marksman knew and he didn't care! They're going to kill us all!" Connor was yelling.

"You don't have to do this! Just, come back!" she pleaded. "I don't want to hurt you," I heard her say a bit quieter.

"NO!" He concussed her and moved towards the building. A big truck came flying at him and hit the back of his head. He fell but quickly got up and turned around.

"I said I didn't want to, I didn't say I wouldn't," Daravia said. They fought. Neither of them were out for the kill, just enough to maim. But Connor didn't know his own strength. He hit her too hard and…she fell. Ace buried her head into my shoulder.

"Daravia," I saw him mouth. Was he going to stop…? No. He concussed the building quickly, then disappeared.

"I can't!" Ace yelled. She turned off the T.V. "What are we going to do? He'll be coming for the two of us, I know it," she said.

"We'll figure something out," I told her. "It's all we can do."

I woke up that night from a bad dream. "Ace? Are you awake, because I'd like to talk to you," I whispered. I reached my hand and grabbed…nothing. "Shit." I knew where she had gone.

I ran back to Area 52 to find it in ruins. Fires everywhere, a few bodies too. No sign of Connor or Ace. I heard a moan.

"Zoom? Is that you?" a voice whispered. I looked around to find Grant lying on the floor. I picked him up.

"Where's Ace?"

"She was fighting Connor in the radiation room," he said. I dropped him and ran to find her. That room was an even bigger mess. It wasn't even a room anymore seeming as all the walls had been knocked down. I looked around and spotted something yellow out of the corner of my eyes. I looked and there was my name. I raced over and threw pieces of metal off of Ace.

"I've got a concussion," she said.

"Stay awake," I pleaded.

"Internal bleeding too. My lungs…" she started coughing up blood. "…filled with blood. No help. Just stay," she said. I held her. "Don't blame Connor. Radiation…did…this…good…guy…just his brain…isn't right…" she said, wheezing.

"Stay."

"How did…you find me?"

"Your tattoo. I saw it. It's hard to miss big yellow letters," I said. She laughed softly.

"Knew it would…save me…one day…I'm always…saving you…now you…saved me…don't…not Connor's…fault," she whispered. Ace closed her eyes. She was dead.

I'd never felt so alone.

* * *

"Zoom, I'm sure there's a way to restore your powers," Grant began.

"I don't want them restored! Just leave me alone!"

"Zoom, be reasonable-"

"My friends are dead, both killed by my brother. My girlfriend is dead, died in my arms. My brother is dead, killed by my hand. I don't want to do this shit anymore and you're calling me unreasonable?! I'm going!" I yelled. I didn't want to be Zoom anymore. I wasn't Zoom anymore.

I was Jack Shepard. That's who I would be. The normal Joe, not the superhero who failed to save his team.

Jack Shepard wasn't a failure.

Zoom was.

* * *

Yeah, so that's that. I liked it. The next chapter will be up soon. Not sure when, but it will...cue evil laughing.


	2. Chapter 2

Tattoo

Chapter 2

Summary: Marsha and the kids see the tattoo and start to ask questions Zoom doesn't really want to answer.

* * *

"Mr. Zoom?" Cindy asked. I looked down. "What's on your arm?" she asked.

"It's a tattoo," I told her. I tried to brush it off. Cindy was a cute kid but she asks a lot of questions.

"Zoom." I shook my head. I knew that voice. Ace. She had been popping up in my head lately. This place did shit to you. I knew Connor was going through hell.

"Of what?" Summer asked. Great.

"Of the Zenith sign," I said. I pulled my shirt up just enough so they'd see the only the one tattoo. Summer touched the tattoo but pulled back quickly, looking scared. Dylan put his hand in her's.

"You okay?" he asked.

"I'm…fine." He knew she wasn't. Dylan could tell something was up but he didn't say anything else. I know I shouldn't do it, but I did compare him to Marksman at times. They were two different people. This is a perfect example. If something like this happened Marksman would probably bug Summer until she said something and/or hit him. Dylan will let it go but if she needs to talk, he'll listen.

"He's a leader, like you. You never pushed me if I didn't want to talk," Ace whispered.

"Go away," I whispered.

"What?" Cindy asked. Crap, I said that out loud.

"Nothing."

"Awesome tattoo," Tucker said. "Can I get one?" he asked.

"NO. We shouldn't have even gotten those tattoos. Now go get ready for bed. It's been a long day," I ordered. Cindy and Tucker groaned but walked off.

"Tucker?" Cindy asked. "Do tattoos hurt?"

"Yeah."

"Oh." Cindy looked at her arm and shivered.

"But they wouldn't hurt you," Tucker said, realizing his mistake. Cindy smiled, hugged him, and bounced off to her…um…well, you can't exactly call them rooms. More like…cubicles? With beds? I don't know…she bounced off to her sleeping area.

I walked back to my room, slowly. Grant decided to put him room in a spot where no matter how I tried to get to my room, I would manage to pass his. I don't want to talk to him. At all. Just keep quiet Jack. Just creep on out. Watch the trick board, watch it, watch it-

"ZOOM!" Grant yelled. Shit.

"Hey Grant," I sighed. "Look, right now isn't a great time. I'm really tired so I'm just gonna-"

"Oh, this will only take a minute. Look, I just wanted to see if-"

"Dr. Grant? I'd like to talk to Zoom, if that's okay?" someone said from behind Grant. Summer stepped from behind him, smiling. Grant sighed but walked back into his room.

"I am forever in your debt," I told her. She smiled.

"Great. You can start by explaining that tattoo," she said.

"Anything but that."

"She'll understand Zoom. She feels things," Ace whispered. No.

"Zoom! That tattoo freaked the crap out of me. It's got so much emotion and there's a girl's face tied to it," she accussed.

"What's your point?"

"Who's the girl?"

"A girl."

"ZOOM!"

"Ace. Her name is…was…" I sighed. Summer nodded.

"So it's Ace. Why is there so much pain attached to it?"

"Um…she's dead?!"

"No, it's not just that…there's another feeling…" Summer said. She touched my arm again.

"Hey! Cut that out! Do you know how annoying and creepy that is?" I asked. "No wonder you don't have any friends, you're always being weird," I muttered. She shot a death look but didn't let go.

"Marsha. The other feeling is confusion. You still love Ace, but you love Marsha. That's understandable Zoom," Summer said. She let go and her eyes came back to our time.

"I love Marsha. She's sweet. You know, you could be with her if you'd forgive yourself," Ace said.

_No, I'm a failure. Even if I save these kids, I can't undo what happened to you._

"Oh really? Well, how would you like it if Dylan was in love with some girl he knew when he was younger huh?"

"I'd be okay."

"Really?" I asked skeptically. She smiled.

"No, not really, but I won't be having that problem, now will I?" she said, smiling. "Just talk to Marsha. Goodnight," she sang over her shoulder. I stuck my tongue out at her. Stupid teenagers.

"Very mature Jack," a warm voice said. I smiled. Marsha was here. I turned around and there she was, smiling, leaning against my door.

"You didn't see anything," I said.

"Uh-huh, sure," she said, rolling her eyes. We went into my room. "What did she want you to tell me?" Marsha asked.

"What? Nothing." I said quickly.

"Really? Nothing? Absolutely nothing?"

"Nothing."

"Okay. So guess what Larraby said at the meeting!?" she said. I love Marsha, I do, but I swear that woman is bipolar. One minute she's all, are you sure? And the next, she's all happy. As Summer's stupid cheerleader friends would say, "WTF?!"

* * *

"Jack? Are you awake?" Marsha asked.

"Yes." I held her a little tighter, making sure that she was really here and I wasn't just dreaming that Ace was alive again.

Ace. There she goes again. I didn't even know the girl that long, but she was always there in my brain and the thought wouldn't die, like that stupid battery bunny on T.V.

"Jack…I…" she started.

"What?" I asked.

"I never noticed your tattoos," she said. I caught the plural.

"Yeah. I still think Daravia slipped something into our drinks to convince us to do that," I said, trying to lighten the mood.

"The Zenith one is nice. She designed it, right?" Marsha clarified. I nodded. "The Ace one is pretty too," she said. I noticed something in her voice. What was it?

"Yeah, I guess." Marsha yawned.

"I should get back to my room before Cindy comes in," Marsha said. Yeah, that kid was in here every night. It was just like the first time I was at Area 52, except this time instead of coming from the hard-ass Daravia it was coming from a 6 year-old in a bunny suit.

"MARsha?" I asked. She looked up. "Are you okay?" I asked.

"I can't find my pants. I know I came in here with pants," she said. I pointed to the foot of my lame excuse for a bed. She smiled and jumped up to put them on.

"I mean about the tattoo."

"You got it years ago. It doesn't matter."

"So you really don't care?"

"Well…yeah I care. I mean…sometimes it feels like I'm competing against a woman I'm never going to beat. I mean I loved you and Ace. Every comic book issue I picked up I hoped it would include a date between the two of you. You were perfect together. Me? I'm just…I'll never beat Ace," she said.

"Marsha-"

"No. I don't want to hear anything. Cindy will be here soon," she said. She left. I laid down on the bed. Was there a competition in my head between the two? Or was I still just coping from losing everyone at once?

"Mr. Zoom?" a tiny voice asked.

"Come in Cindy," I said. The little girl walked in and gave me a funny look.

"You look funny," she said. I glanced over her outfit.

"You're the one wearing the kitten outfit, not me," I said.

"You look upset. What's wrong?"

"A word to the wise: don't ever date kid, okay?" I said. She rolled her eyes at me and pulled the couch up to my bed.

"Goodnight Mr. Zoom."

* * *

"Marsha!" I yelled.

"What?"

"About what you said last night-"

"Zoom, I don't want to know-"

"I know you don't want to know but I want to tell you. Look, I love Ace and I miss her a lot but I love you too. I…you're the one I want. Ace was…" I struggled for the right words. "Ace was nice but you…you're special." Marsha smiled.

"You really think so?"

"Yeah…" I said. I pulled her closer and decided that now was a time to lighten the mood. "I mean, come on, you've got my comic books 4 different languages," I teased. She smiled.

"5, not counting Braille," she said. I kissed her, right there, even though I knew Larraby would kick my ass for "corrupting the children." Whatever. I know what Dylan and Summer are _really_ doing when they're going to run errands.

"Gross."

"Yeah. Grown-ups should not be allowed to kiss in public," Tucker agreed. He and Cindy walked away. Marsha giggled.

"Be happy Zoom," Ace said.

_How?_

"Forgive yourself. I forgave you and since I'm technically you…" she said. She smiled at me sadly. "Marsha deserves you." I smiled.

"I love you," I said softly to Ace.

"I know. But you love Marsha…just be happy." I nodded.

"I love you Marsha."

"I love you too Zoom," they both said. Ace smiled and disappeared.

I was freed.

* * *

Okay, so have any of you ever had a great idea for a story and you're typing it and then you're like, "Oh shit, I don't know how to end it?!"

Anyone?  
Well, because this happens often with me. Usually, though I manage to pull together a halfway decent ending. Like this one. At least, I think it's good.

* * *

And yes, I did steal that whole "I forgive you and since I'm you" thing from Roswell. What can i say, it was a cute idea.


End file.
